Sunday 25th September 2016
Trinity 18
Hymns NEH
Music SettingDARKE in E(Gloria-MATHIAS)
IntroitGod so loved the world-STANIER
Introit hymn 434 Oft in danger,oft in woeCollect
Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind
and reaching out to that which is before,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Today’s themes
Money, and overemphasizing money in our lives is the theme of all these readings. Within the reading from St Paul we have not one but two of THE most famous lines in the entire Bible. The reading from Amos sums up his whole prophecy; namely that the religious are getting rich through ornate practice, at the expense of the poor. In the parable in Luke, we have an imagined conversation with a man reflecting on what he’d have done differently with his wealth had he known he’d end up in hell.
First ReadingAmos 6.1a,4-7
ReaderClare Mannall
Alas for those who are at ease inZion,
and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
the notables of the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel resorts!
Alas for those who lie on beds ofivory,
and lounge on their couches,and eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the stall;who sing idle songs to the sound oftheharp,and like David improvise on instruments of music;
who drink wine from bowls,and anoint themselves with the finest oils,but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
GradualPsalm 146
1 Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, ¹ O my ¹ soul:
while I ¹ live • will I ¹ praise the ¹ Lord;
1a as long as I ¹ have any ¹ being,
I will sing ¹ praises ¹ to my ¹ God.
2 Put not your trust in princes,
nor in any ¹ human ¹ power,
for there ¹ is no ¹ help in ¹ them.
3 When their breath goes forth, they re¹turn to the ¹ earth;
on that day ¹ all their ¹ thoughts ¹ perish.
4 Happy are those who have the God of Jacob ¹ for their ¹ help,
whose hope is ¹ in the ¹ Lord their ¹ God;
5 Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and ¹ all that is ¹ in them;
who ¹ keeps his ¹ promise for ¹ ever;
‡ 6 Who gives justice to those that ¹ suffer ¹ wrong
and ¹ bread to ¹ those who ¹ hunger.
7 The Lord looses ¹ those that are ¹ bound;
the Lord opens the ¹ eyes ¹ of the ¹ blind;
8 The Lord lifts up those who ¹ are bowed ¹ down;
the ¹ Lord ¹ loves the ¹ righteous;
9 The Lord watches over the stranger in the land;
he upholds the ¹ orphan and ¹ widow;
but the way of the wicked ¹ he turns ¹ upside ¹ down.
10 The Lord shall ¹ reign for ¹ ever,
your God, O Zion, throughout all gene¹rations. ¹ Alle¹luia.
Second reading: 1 Timothy 6.6-19
ReaderMargaret Kelly
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment;for we brought nothing into the world, so thatwe can take nothing out of it;but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you madethe good confession in the presence of many witnesses.In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge youto keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
GospelLuke 16.19-end
‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.The rich man also died and was buried.In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.”But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.”He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.”Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.”He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.”He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”’
AddressRevd Robert Stanier
IntercessionsMavis Cracknell
Offertory Hymn 478 Ye watchers and ye holy ones
During the offertory hymn a collection is taken for the work of
the church: please give generously. If you are moved to do so, please ask for info about planned giving, if you do not do so currently.
Communion Hymn341 Blest are the pure in heart
Communion AnthemBYRD- Sacerdotes Domini
Please come forward for Communion if it is your custom, or for
a blessing as directed by the Churchwardens. We will receive in two lines, as usual.
Notices and banns
At the dismissal424 O love divine,how sweet thou art